Yara 29.04.2009 22:50 |
Hi, guys! I hope you're doing great. Do you have any info or thoughts on why Queen never played Killer Queen live in its entirety? If my memory serves me right, it usually ends after Brian's guitar solo and then it was often linked to some other song as to form a kind of medley. It has always puzzled me because, first, the song was a huge hit and, second, it's such a short song! Why do you think they made this choice? Thanks a whole lot and have a wonderful thursday you all! Take care. |
cmsdrums 30.04.2009 07:51 |
Interesting question - it would have been nice to hear it all and there's no reason musically as to why they didn't - especially when you consider we got Get Down Make Love in full (or even extended!), It's Late full, Bo Rhap with opera section tape insert, Brighton Rock full.... I can understand why Bicycle Race was cut down (all the bells and harmony solo stuff), but I agree that Killer Queen deserved a full outing as opposed to within the medley |
Yara 30.04.2009 16:51 |
cmsdrums wrote: Interesting question - it would have been nice to hear it all and there's no reason musically as to why they didn't - especially when you consider we got Get Down Make Love in full (or even extended!), It's Late full, Bo Rhap with opera section tape insert, Brighton Rock full.... I can understand why Bicycle Race was cut down (all the bells and harmony solo stuff), but I agree that Killer Queen deserved a full outing as opposed to within the medley Hi, cmsdrums! Thanks a lot for your reply. I hope you're doing fine. Exactly. I have nothing else to add. This is indeed why I'm puzzled by it. And if it were an obscure song...but it was one of Queen's first and greatest hits and, plus, it was already quite short! Well, I guess we may never know. Thanks a lot for the reply! Take care. |
tommycharles 30.04.2009 18:27 |
I don't know that this was definitely the case for Queen or anything, but I know from playing a fair bit that sometimes you just get used to playing songs a certain way, and never bother to question it. It's happened to us from time to time - "how come you never play the album version of that?" "hmm....never really occurred to us really, this different version always worked fine..." A bit like the Stones never playing the recorded intro to Jumpin Jack Flash, or, for that matter Queen never playing the piano version of Love of My Life...sometimes you just have a live version of something that works, and you stick with it. T |
Yara 30.04.2009 19:11 |
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tommycharles wrote: I don't know that this was definitely the case for Queen or anything, but I know from playing a fair bit that sometimes you just get used to playing songs a certain way, and never bother to question it. It's happened to us from time to time - "how come you never play the album version of that?" "hmm....never really occurred to us really, this different version always worked fine..." A bit like the Stones never playing the recorded intro to Jumpin Jack Flash, or, for that matter Queen never playing the piano version of Love of My Life...sometimes you just have a live version of something that works, and you stick with it. T Hi, tommycharles! Yes, it may well be. It's a good point. I don't have the same experience and knowledge as you, I have to say, but I can imagine that there are songs which just work fine in a certain way live and the band decides, as you remarked, to stick to it. Still, whenever I listen to the live version, I miss the last part. :)) However, the medley does sound interesting when the soloing lead directly into the beginning of good old-fashioned lover boy, for instance: the effect was great and the shift from a song to another was seamless. But then again, I think there were a lot of times - I don't know if they ever played it in full - they dropped the last part of "good old-fashioned lover boy" too! Such a great song - and the last part was often - or always? - cut out. :op GOFLB is one of those songs I have never understood why Queen dropped off the set list so fast! Thanks for the feedback and the reply. I hope you're doing fine. Yara |
thunderbolt 31742 30.04.2009 22:36 |
It worked quite well as part of a medley, even when the whole "medley" consisted of KQ and I'm in Love with My Car. |
maxpower 01.05.2009 10:21 |
I never thought Killer Queen really worked as a live number but they probably felt obliged to do it what with it being a UK number 2, then again Bohemian Rhapsody wasn't hardly geared for the stage but as we know they got around it |
Yara 01.05.2009 13:54 |
maxpower wrote: I never thought Killer Queen really worked as a live number but they probably felt obliged to do it what with it being a UK number 2, then again Bohemian Rhapsody wasn't hardly geared for the stage but as we know they got around it Hi, maxpower! I share this feeling, really. I have never been much fond of the live performances of Killer Queen. I guess Freddie's vocals are way too harsh for a song that demands quite a lot of delicacy and I feel the tempo was often rushed and messy. I don't like the way the vocal harmonies used to sound live in this song either. Though I agree with dear users Sheer and Thunderbolt that the song did work well as part of the medley sometimes. I enjoyed it when the song would lead directly into Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy, it was great. I think it was a song that got the audience going and set up the stage for a series of other songs which, if played as separate numbers, especially the shorter ones, would detract from the excitement of the performance as a whole. It seems the medley did help to keep the audience very excited and enthusiastic for a longer period of time - it was non-stop fun with no time to rest, I think. :-)) Take care and I wish you the best! Yara |
cmsdrums 01.05.2009 15:12 |
another thing (linked to the medley really) is that I was always bemused as to why they never played the last verse and chorus of I'm In Love With my Car - at least Roger got to remedy that with later solo and QPR tours! |
on my way up 01.05.2009 15:18 |
Yara wrote:maxpower wrote: I never thought Killer Queen really worked as a live number but they probably felt obliged to do it what with it being a UK number 2, then again Bohemian Rhapsody wasn't hardly geared for the stage but as we know they got around itHi, maxpower! I share this feeling, really. I have never been much fond of the live performances of Killer Queen. I guess Freddie's vocals are way too harsh for a song that demands quite a lot of delicacy and I feel the tempo was often rushed and messy. I don't like the way the vocal harmonies used to sound live in this song either. Though I agree with dear users Sheer and Thunderbolt that the song did work well as part of the medley sometimes. I enjoyed it when the song would lead directly into Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy, it was great. I think it was a song that got the audience going and set up the stage for a series of other songs which, if played as separate numbers, especially the shorter ones, would detract from the excitement of the performance as a whole. It seems the medley did help to keep the audience very excited and enthusiastic for a longer period of time - it was non-stop fun with no time to rest, I think. :-)) Take care and I wish you the best! Yara I think it's safe to say the song sounded better in the earlier years. Freddie's voice sounded softer and that suits the song better. Also, the band took better care of the harmonies. |
luthorn 01.05.2009 16:22 |
cmsdrums wrote: Interesting question - it would have been nice to hear it all and there's no reason musically as to why they didn't - especially when you consider we got Get Down Make Love in full (or even extended!), It's Late full, Bo Rhap with opera section tape insert, Brighton Rock full.... I can understand why Bicycle Race was cut down (all the bells and harmony solo stuff), but I agree that Killer Queen deserved a full outing as opposed to within the medley you mean the get down make noise for 20 minutes without a good reason? I like the song, but can;t stand its live performance. There are only a few concerts where my head does not explode because of this song. |
Yara 01.05.2009 19:44 |
cmsdrums wrote: another thing (linked to the medley really) is that I was always bemused as to why they never played the last verse and chorus of I'm In Love With my Car - at least Roger got to remedy that with later solo and QPR tours! Hi, cmsdrums! Again! You're right. Correct me if I'm wrong, please, but they didn't play the last part of good old-fashioned lover boy either! Such short songs. :op But, well, if it's in the medley they are supposed to be shortened after all, but I for sure missed a whole lot the last part of good old-fashioned lover boy - I love this song and it's so short that without the last part it feels as if they hadn't played it! Take care! And, of cooourse, have a great weekend! Yara. @ On My Way UP Thanks for the reply, it's very kind of you. Yes, you're probably right, though I'm really not fond of their live renditions of Killer Queen, even back in the early days when Freddie's voice sounded cleaner. His take always seemed to lack even the modicum of delicacy which is responsible for much of the song's appeal, to my mind; in most concerts, I guess his singing in Killer Queen is rather flat and dull. Besides, I really missed the last part of the song and, to my taste and in my humble opinion, they all too often messed up with the tempo and the vocal harmonies, which made for an unpleasant listening experience to me. It's all just my humble opinion and personal taste, of course. I see your point and, well, you're right, the cleaner the vocals, the better the song sounded. But I enjoy the Houston '77 version and the way Killer Queen leads to Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy quite seemlessly! It's great. But then I miss the final part of such a great and short song as GOFLB. I think the great gigs from the News of The World tour are probably among my all-time Queen favorites together with the one at Hammersmith in 1979. But then, News of The World has always been my favorite studio album, so... :op Take care and I wish you the best! Have a great weekend! Yara |
catqueen 02.05.2009 09:25 |
I'm very ignorant, and not overly familiar with the live recordings, but I think he also sang a lower bit in Killer Queen too, right? In the studio version, the melody in the chorus is higher, but live he sang a lower line. Also, it was so much faster - maybe it was difficult to fit in all the words at that speed? I can't imagine that was the reason though, it would have made more sense to slow it down a bit. Plus, I can't imagine that a singer like Freddie would have a problem with that anyway. |
Yara 03.05.2009 08:52 |
catqueen wrote: I'm very ignorant, and not overly familiar with the live recordings, but I think he also sang a lower bit in Killer Queen too, right? In the studio version, the melody in the chorus is higher, but live he sang a lower line. Also, it was so much faster - maybe it was difficult to fit in all the words at that speed? I can't imagine that was the reason though, it would have made more sense to slow it down a bit. Plus, I can't imagine that a singer like Freddie would have a problem with that anyway. Hi catqueen! How are you? I hope you're doing great. The fun thing here is that we all can learn a lot, regardless of how much we know about a certain topic. I sure am at least twice as ignorant as you and, still, I have a great time here debating ideas, learning or simply having fun I hope you have a great time too! :-) I really liked your observations and, as far as I can tell, it seems fair - Freddie did tend to drop the tune in the chorus in many live versions - in Rock Montreal, the release of the gigs from 1981, for instance, he does it very clearly, and grossly so! It seems he's losing his breath or trying to reach a contrast which I at least didn't understand or relate to. But he was so treacherous in his singing, in a positive sense, that this is probably on me! :-) As far as I can tell from listening to the live performances, Freddie did tend to drop the tune, sometimes I think grossly so, in the chorus, probably - this is how I'd see it!!! - in the hope that he'd create a very nice contrast with Roger's and Brian's higher register. It'd indeed be a nice effect if it worked, but I feel it didn't, that is, it didn't work for me, this is a song which I never liked much as a live act. Unfortunately. :-( As for the tempo, yes, that's probably one of my main quibbles. :op They play it in a rush and, if you think about it, and have the original in mind, that'd be nice for the singer - it means that the verses he has to sing non-stop he's allowed to sing in a shorter period of time and, therefore, it's not as demanding as far as breathing goes. On the other hand, though, if you rush the song that much, as they usually did, the timing to do the more delicate lines is completely lost. I'd sound out of place, tune and tempo, for sure. In the Rock Montreal DVD, Roger does observe that they got out of tempo there. He comments on the kind of chronic dropping of tune in such songs as Under Pressure too. Anyway, I miss the last part!!! They could've dropped the tune as much as they wanted, but I'd like them to have played the last part, which is probably the most thrilling and fun, it comes right after the beautiful soloing by Brian and gives the song its structure, its resolution even. :-(( But, well, as many said up there, it did work well in the medley, so... I'm probably a minority here. :-)) THANKS A LOT FOR YOUR REPLY. :o) I loved it. And take care, right? I hope you have a wonderful sunday. I wish you the best! Yara |
Bigfish 13.05.2009 07:07 |
tommycharles wrote: I don't know that this was definitely the case for Queen or anything, but I know from playing a fair bit that sometimes you just get used to playing songs a certain way, and never bother to question it. It's happened to us from time to time - "how come you never play the album version of that?" "hmm....never really occurred to us really, this different version always worked fine..." A bit like the Stones never playing the recorded intro to Jumpin Jack Flash, or, for that matter Queen never playing the piano version of Love of My Life...sometimes you just have a live version of something that works, and you stick with it. T Hi Tommy, I was just wondering if you are the popular 50's american Dj/Singer that died in 1996 ? |
JoxerTheDeityPirate 13.05.2009 17:53 |
luthorn wrote:this is commonly known in my social circle as the "keith" as it would be when he would wander off from us to the beer tent until things like this was over with and then make his way back 10 minutes or so later,he didnt do this just with Brians solo but with other bands that dragged things out unnecessarily on stage toocmsdrums wrote: Interesting question - it would have been nice to hear it all and there's no reason musically as to why they didn't - especially when you consider we got Get Down Make Love in full (or even extended!), It's Late full, Bo Rhap with opera section tape insert, Brighton Rock full.... I can understand why Bicycle Race was cut down (all the bells and harmony solo stuff), but I agree that Killer Queen deserved a full outing as opposed to within the medleyyou mean the get down make noise for 20 minutes without a good reason? I like the song, but can;t stand its live performance. There are only a few concerts where my head does not explode because of this song. |